{"id":1266,"date":"2017-01-29T13:10:23","date_gmt":"2017-01-29T07:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jatinchhabra.com\/?p=1266"},"modified":"2017-08-18T13:01:38","modified_gmt":"2017-08-18T07:31:38","slug":"adalaj-vav-stepwell-gujarat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jatinchhabra.com\/adalaj-vav-stepwell-gujarat\/","title":{"rendered":"Adalaj Vav – A beautiful stepwell with a tragic tale"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are many tourist attractions in India which have love stories behind them (like Taj Mahal) or some tragic tales, but the Adalaj Vav in Gujarat is a unique site which has all of it.<\/p>\n

Love & respect of a Queen for her King & people, and a tragic end which the locals still remember.<\/p>\n

On Day 2 of my trip to Gujarat, I decided to start the day with a voyage to Adalaj village, 18 km from Ahmedabad and 3-4 km from Gandhinagar (Capital of Gujarat).<\/p>\n

Adalaj Vav is the second stepwell site I visited after Dada Harir Vav<\/a>\u00a0and is the 1st stepwell where I have seen drinkable water. There isn’t any entry ticket for this stepwell<\/a>, but nevertheless, this Vav is well\u00a0preserved.<\/p>\n

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\"Adalaj

Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

Now before I start adding the collection of images I have for Adalaj Vav, I must share a small story which I heard from the locals (& there is a documentary on Epic Channel). It’s a tragic tale of a widow queen Rani Roopba or Rudabai.<\/p>\n

The tragic take of Queen Rudabai<\/h2>\n

Adalaj Vav construction started in late 16th century by King Rana Veer Singh. He was from the Vaghela dynasty who were the rulers of Dandai Desh, which I assume was the region of near Gandhinagar, Gujarat. At that time, Gujarat was under the control of Mahmud Begada (Sultan of Gujarat).<\/p>\n

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\"Mahmud

Mahmud Begada (View from a documentary on Adalaj Vav on Epic)<\/p><\/div>\n

Rana Veer Singh people in Adalaj were suffering from water crisis & they had to walk miles to get water for their daily needs. So, he decided to create a Vav to solve this crisis, but he couldn’t conclude the work as he died in a battle against Mahmud Begada.<\/p>\n

When Mahmud Begada first met with Rana Veer Singh widow wife, Queen Rudabai, he fell in love with her and ordered her to marry him. Queen Rudabai didn’t refuse this offer, but she put a condition that Mahmud Begada will first complete\u00a0the unfinished work of Vav, started by her late husband, Rana Veer Singh.<\/p>\n

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\"Queen

Queen Rudabai (View from a documentary on Adalaj Vav on Epic)<\/p><\/div>\n

Mahmud Begada accepted this condition and made significant efforts to construct a\u00a0beautiful Vav which is a fusion of Hindu, Jain, and Islamic traditions.<\/p>\n

By 1599 AD, Adalaj Vav was built, but Mahmud Begada couldn’t marry Rudabai as she committed suicide by Jumping in Adalaj Vav’s well.<\/p>\n

Even today, Adalaj Vav is described as Rudabai Vav, named after the queen who sacrificed her life instead of marrying a Sultan. And this is the tragic story associated with Adalaj Vav.<\/p>\n

Now a tour of Adalaj Vav<\/h2>\n

To reach Adalaj Vav, I hired a cab from Ahmedabad, and it took us around 40 minutes to reach. The first site which I saw here was a temple & just next to it is the 1st of three entry gate of Adalaj Vav.<\/p>\n

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Temple outside Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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Adalaj Vav Entry gate<\/p><\/div>\n

From here I walked 20 steps to reach to\u00a01st floor, which has these two beautiful windows, with mind blowing stone work done on them. Have a look at them in the below pictures.<\/p>\n

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One of two windows at Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Left

Left hand side window at Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Right

Right hand side gate type structure ar Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

From here I walked beneath, and the two interesting things here are pillars with heavy carving work and window type artifact with stone plants, leaves and flowers carved in them. Have a look at the below images:<\/p>\n

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Pillars in Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Design

Design in Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

And finally the last floor of Adalaj Vav, which is a heaven for any art lover. This part of the stepwell has astonishing artwork done in its beam, pillars and the view of all five different floors, shining with sunlight is simply amazing.<\/p>\n

Every corner of this fifth floor is designed so neatly that it shows that Sultan Mohammad Begada had an enormous crush on Queen Rudabai. He was ready to spend a fortune to built a magnificent Stepwell in Gujarat.<\/p>\n

Check out these images which I took from the fifth floors of Adalaj or Rudabai Vav stepwell.<\/p>\n

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\"Design

Design at the fifth floor of Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"View

View from Fifth floor of Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Adalaj

Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"The

The well of Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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Plant statue at Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

With this, I have now covered the second stepwell site in the state\u00a0and moving towards Modhera Sun Temple in Modhera village, Mehsana to capture the third of five stepwell sites I have planned to visit in Gujarat.<\/p>\n

Here are some images which I took while coming back to the ground level of Adalaj Vav Stepwell.<\/p>\n

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\"Adalaj

Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Adalaj

Adalaj Vav<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Adalaj

Adalaj Vav board<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Adalaj

Adalaj Vav from top<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Adalaj

Adalaj Vav from top<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Adalaj

Adalaj Vav Garden<\/p><\/div>\n

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Sleeping dogs (outside the Vav)<\/p><\/div>\n

Location of Adalaj Vav<\/h2>\n

This stepwell is in Adalaj village, which is just next to Gandhinagar. From Ahmedabad, its 18 km and you need to either hire a cab or catch a bus for Gandhinagar.<\/p>\n

Timings of the Vav<\/h2>\n

Though there is no entry ticket to enter, still the site is maintained by local authorities. So I would suggest visiting Adalaj Vav between 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

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